Hi all.I am already thinking about US Thanksgiving. If I were Canadian, I would have posted this last month. I am planning on doing the Canadian version as Thanksgiving: Part 1 because I just love the savo(u)ry delights of that holiday.

I definitely want to make my own tofurky again. (DrDalek is me in the comments for more ideas on that.) And I think I want to make the double layer pumpkin cheesecake and a swiss cake.

I am not sure what to do for a bread product or if it is necessary to even have rolls. I make a good biscuit these days -- I might just do that.

What are you thinking? What did you do last year that you're thinking of carrying over to 2012?

Oh man, I'm glad I'm not alone. It is one of my greatest pet peeves to see stores carry decorations for holidays too early (I start ranting like a mad woman seeing things for Xmas before Halloween), but I was scanning pinterest today for ideas for Xmas and Thanksgiving dinner.

To be honest, I'm just ready to start cooking pumpkin in every dish.

I wanted to try pull-apart biscuits this year. And my roast came out really well last year, so I'd like to do it again with thinner "skin". I was thinking of going a pumpkin cheesecake route over pumpkin pie, and maybe trying something new with the cranberry sauce (since I'm the only one that seems to go after it).

_________________"The time has come," the Walrus said,"To talk of many things:Of shoes, and ships, and sealing-wax,Of Capsicums & Things."

I pretty much carry over the same things, homemade tofurkey, mac'n'chz, mashed potatoes, rolls, sweet potato casserole, and some green veggie. And some sort of dessert, I'm guessing this year something from VPITS will be having a place at the table. Oh, and usually a spiced cranberry sauce and some gravy.

In a way I think it's kind of boring to do the same thing every year, but I start looking forward to it during the summer and I like to have some sort of tradition for the kid.

I really want to try and make some kind of roast en croute this year, but I’d rather not do seitan as my omni family and friends tend to be put off by fake meats. I was looking at recipes for lentil loaf, and thinking of trying to wrap something like that in puff pastry. Anyone have any insight or suggestions into whether or not that’ll work?

Cabbage rolls are pretty much the only necessary staple in my family that gets carried over from year to year. My grandma’s Ukrainian version is meat-free by tradition already, so they’re a bit of super-awesome holiday comfort food that I didn’t have to give up.

_________________She eats a paleo diet, just like the whiskey-and-bacon-eating australopithecans before her. - annak

ooh, biscuits are a good idea! i might do a few test runs to see if i can get them up to snuff - i think i've only made biscuits once before, and they were not very successful.

i'll be cooking for my partner's British family, so obviously i'd like to give them a nice representation of good ol' down-home Merruhkin cookin'. last year i made V'con seitan cutlets which i breaded and pan-fried. they seemed to go down really well with most of the 10 or so omnivores at the table, but my pescetarian father-in-law wasn't too keen on the texture.

i wonder if he'd like the Thanksgiving roulade on the PPK blog? it's still seitan, but it's not totally made of gluten, so maybe? i'm also considering marinated & baked tofu, but then there's the whole making-omnis-eat-tofu thing. i may need to consult my spiritual advisor.

_________________vegan cheese bigamy is not allowed. - LisaPunk

So today at PPK I learned how to fork up a falafel and a taco. - craiger_ny

I really want to try and make some kind of roast en croute this year, but I’d rather not do seitan as my omni family and friends tend to be put off by fake meats. I was looking at recipes for lentil loaf, and thinking of trying to wrap something like that in puff pastry. Anyone have any insight or suggestions into whether or not that’ll work?

i made a mushroom & chestnut pate en croute from this book a few years ago, and it turned out great! if you can get the lentils to stick together well enough to make a good oblong lump, i see no reason it wouldn't work.

_________________vegan cheese bigamy is not allowed. - LisaPunk

So today at PPK I learned how to fork up a falafel and a taco. - craiger_ny

Cabbage rolls are pretty much the only necessary staple in my family that gets carried over from year to year. My grandma’s Ukrainian version is meat-free by tradition already, so they’re a bit of super-awesome holiday comfort food that I didn’t have to give up.

Cabbage rolls are pretty much the only necessary staple in my family that gets carried over from year to year. My grandma’s Ukrainian version is meat-free by tradition already, so they’re a bit of super-awesome holiday comfort food that I didn’t have to give up.

I am intrigued. Would you be willing to share the recipe?

I would, if I had it! I've never actually made them myself, just helped my grandma with the rolling, and in typical grandma fashion she doesn't have a recipe, just makes them the way she always has for 60 years. It's basically just rice and onion rolled in steamed cabbage, covered in tomatoes and baked to deliciousness. This recipe looks pretty similar, although we always use oil for frying the onions, and cans of stewed diced tomatoes instead of tomato juice. This year I'll pay better attention, write some things down, and report back.

And thanks for the pate suggestion, EmperorTomatoKetchup, I'll have to check that out. Sounds tasty!

_________________She eats a paleo diet, just like the whiskey-and-bacon-eating australopithecans before her. - annak

I'll probably make chickpea cutlets and make sure to bring earth balance & almond milk for mashed potatoes (We go to a family friend's home and they're willing to set aside some potatoes for me). Probably chickpea cutlets & the maple pecan pie and some butter-rum pumpkin pull apart rolls that I veganized from a recipe I found on pinterest for christmas last year. SO GOOD. Not sure if anything else from me though.

I've decided my project for the day is going to be figuring out what I'm going to be making next Sunday to celebrate (early) Canadian Thanksgiving! That was a great idea, Sra. Nooch. It'll just be me and the Mr., since we actually live in Texas and will be celebrating US Thanksgiving with our families in November. This gives me a lot more freedom as to what'll be on the menu as well. Exciting!

Main Course: Stuffed seitan roast (PPK). Anyone made this before? I made the apricot glazed roast from 500 Vegan Recipes last year, but it just did not work out for me at all, which made me very sad. It ended up being like the worst, dry, rock-hard loaf of bread in the world and I had great difficulty even trying to slice it with a knife. I'm guessing it's because it dried out and/or maybe the vital wheat gluten to wheat flour ratio was off? If anyone could give me any tips about how to make this work, I'd appreciate it, since the ingredients tasted good before baking.

I'm glad I'm not the only one dreaming of thanksgiving. My mother keeps telling me it's too early. But it's my first thanksgiving where I'm home (used to play in the band at the football game each year) so I'm really excited to finally get to contribute. And it's my first vegan thanksgiving, so I want it to be awesome.

There is no menu yet, but I'm doing a pumpkin pie with oreo crust. So delicious. I'm completely stumped on what to do for a roast, but I know I would like one. I have a kickass gravy recipe that will be making an appearance for sure. And rolls or biscuits! Or both!

I used to make crescent rolls but the recipe I used had two (or more) eggs so the last few years I was making plain or potato dinner buns. I think I will try crescent rolls again, sans eggs. Good thing to veganize for my blog :-)

Edited to add: Stuffing! Maybe I thought that went without saying but ti doesn't. Celery, sage and savoury stuffing, yum.

my family refuses to allow me to do a vegan thanksgiving. (I'm the only vegan). they hate every faux meat imaginable. but, I'm allergic to every faux meat anyway, (celiac disease = no seitan, no soy, no dairy, no peanuts) so it doesn't really matter anyway.I offer to make as many side dishes as I can legally get away with, so that I can make them as "allergy friendly" as possible. My vegetarian daughter actually cooks the turkey (what the fizzle?!) and I truck all the sides to her house, where we all feast. I guess as long as the men in the family outnumber us, this is the way it will be.

BTW: Are any truly awesome vegan men hanging out at the PPK (around 50 years old?) Just kidding!

Hmm, so Mr. has specifically requested no seitan because he is severely averse to the seitan sausages that I've fed him in the past. He's also theoretically against "large hunks of tofu", so I'm thinking a marinated tofu dish is also probably not a good idea. I want something centerpiece-y. Stuffed acorn squash might be an option, too.

Now for the main course, I'm thinking the caramelized onion tart with sweet potato sage crust from 500 Vegan Recipes, but I'm not sure. I think it'd still be good with gravy and all that, but I'm not sure it's the show stopper I'm looking for. I was also considering this Homemade Tofurkey with Brown Rice Stuffing, but it seems like it might be a bit bland and I'm not sure if blending the tofu (5 packages!) with seasonings and then pressing it back into a shape would solve the "big hunks of tofu" problem.

I have to revisit my past holiday meals and see what was gluten free. This is my first gluten free holiday! Last year I think I made chickpea cutlets, the savory mushroom gravy from ppk, mashed potatoes, green beans, sweet potato casserole from fat free vegan, and the pumpkin cheesecake from ppk.

Past years I have made stuffing and a tofurky or ordered from Whole Foods catering. No idea what to make this year!

My mother in law always makes a cranberry chutney that we can eat. So at least I don't have to worry about that.